CS683/KEP500: Technology Entrepreneurship

Assignments

CS687/KEP500: Technology Entrepreneurship - Assignments

Assignments and Guidelines

Below you will find the list of the course's compulsory assignments, with details about what is expected and how the assignments will be graded. Some assignments will be done and submitted by each student, individually. The term project and its deliverables will be done by teams of students, where each team should have no less than three and no more than four participants. All team members will receive the same grade. Splitting or rearrangement of teams will not be accepted after the third week of classes, so make sure that you have in place from the beginning clear decision-making and conflict resolution processes.

Reading Assignment and Book write-up

Each student is assigned a reading from the following reading list of books: Each student is expected to compose and deliver a write-up for their reading assignment, comprising:
  1. A summary of the assigned book;
  2. A description of an idea from their reading that they found novel and/or surprising and that they want to implement in their own project, explaining the reasoning behind this decision;
  3. A novel and/or key idea from their reading that they would choose not to implement in their own project, explaining the reasoning behind this decision.
Grading of writing assignments will be based on their clarity, reasoning, and depth, as described below: Clarity (30 points) comes from clear writing, good structure, and meticulous editing of the text. The paper receives: Reasoning (30 points): Reasoning is based on good arguments, which are typically established upon specific phrases or passages that support the claims given. Therefore, it is expected that arguments are properly substantiated with accurate references. The paper receives: Depth (40 points) means that the text contains original ideas and observations, and succeeds in teaching its readers something new. The paper receives:

Guest Lectures' write-ups

Students are expected to submit at least three write-ups after attending a selection of guest lectures, which are part of the Series of Lectures in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (KEP101) of the Centre for Entrepreneurship. Besides the lectures organized in the context of KEP101, the Centre may announce in its Facebook Page, talks or seminars organised by other entities, inside or outside the University, which are labeled as "C4E101 Approved." You are entitled to attend these lectures and submit a writeup about them, alternatively. In each write-up, the points you need to address are:

Short case study

Students are expected to submit a short case study. The topic will be announced during the class. The case study will be an essay of a few pages, analysing some interesting innovation brought to market, using the Business Model Canvas or other methodologies.

Group project

Students are expected to establish teams and develop an idea with a strong exploitation potential through a business venture or a social enterprise. The teams are required to undertake all necessary activities to develop a strong business and technology development plan and prepare a final oral presentation to seek funding (Venture Capital pitch). The Group project comprise three deliverables:

Announcements of Assignments

All announcements will be performed through the class' Online Forum on Piazza.